Stay safe while celebrating Raksha Bandhan

Detailed guidance is in place around religion and worship, but here is some of the advice for worshippers ahead of the celebrations:

• As hard as it is, try to meet as few people outside your household as possible.
•  Groups of up to 2 households (a household means those who live together or are in a support bubble together) can meet socially in any location or a group of up to 6 people from more households can meet outdoors. Even in these groups you should ensure you wash your hands frequently ​for 20 seconds and keep 2 metres apart from people outside your own household or bubble, even in other people’s homes.  
• Other actions taken to reduce the risk of transmission should also be considered, for example, any food shared should be pre-wrapped, and prevent friends and family from using any dishes and cutlery other than their own.

 At your place of worship

•  Communal worship or prayer can be attended by more than 30 people but only if the venues used can safely accommodate larger numbers in a way which complies with COVID-19 secure guidance.
• It is important that risks are managed sensibly. In line with wider Places of worship guidance you should:
• Do - Follow the mitigation measures that places of worship have put in place, for example using booking systems, changes to entrances and exits or staggered arrivals.
• Do - Continue to broadcast services online for those who need to stay at home or are able to mark the event at home to avoid large gatherings.
• Don’t break social distancing (2 metres between households, or 1 metre with mitigation, if 2 metres is not possible), and especially avoid touching people outside of your household. 
• Don’t interact socially outside of your household, or the group (of 2 households) that you went to the place of worship with. 
• Do - If you can, you should also wear a face covering. 
• Do - Make sure you provide contact details to the place of worship to support the NHS Test and Trace service designed to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 
• Don’t use shared areas for ablutions – wash at home, unless in an emergency.
• Do - Remove communal resources such as prayer mats. Single use alternatives should be removed after use and disposed of by the worshipper.
• Do - Make sure only you touch your belongings, for example shoes if removed.
• Do - Take home personal items brought in to aid worship, such as a prayer mat.
• Do - Speak into a microphone to lead devotions or sermons to avoid shouting. Avoid sharing microphones between different speakers.
• Do - Use a plexi-glass screen in front of a single individual raising their voice, singing or chanting at the front.
• Don’t - No one else should sing, shout, or raise their voice, beyond that one individual behind plexi-glass.

 If you develop a new or continuous cough, a fever, or experience a change to your taste or smell, self-isolate and book a coronavirus test